The timing couldn't have been better - board bags in, flap closed and a hair's breadth escape from the snow chaos at Frankfurt Airport. On the 10-hour flight across the Atlantic, there was plenty of time to take a deep breath, because there was a lot of work behind the fact that 17 bulging boardbags were now slumbering in the belly of the Condor plane: from putting together the test groups, to ordering, unpacking and packing the bags, to checking in at the airport, many a bead of sweat flowed down the forehead of editor Stephan, who was responsible for organising the test in this case.
Brett Kenny and his crew from Radical Sports Tobago were already waiting at the airport in Tobago, which is one of the main reasons why we keep coming back here. Having a well-equipped surf centre as a base is essential for us, and the reliable trade winds and great photo backdrop at the Pigeon Point spot provide ideal conditions. In addition to some board and sailing groups for testing the new equipment, smaller tutorials and webinar content are also on our packed to-do list. But before we could hit the water, we first had to unpack and prepare!
With some Doubles It's easier to work in the stomach, those typical local dumplings with a spicy chickpea filling. All kinds of exciting new products came to light from our 17 bags - such as the new board model from Duotone, called Lightningthe freerace board White Tiger from Future Fly or an innovation from MS Fins, which sucks in air through small channels during the ride and lets it flow out at the trailing edge - no joke.
After three hours of sticking on sails and fitting loops, however, we slowly began to feel restless on the beach, as the palm trees were swaying more and more in the wind every minute - so we headed out onto the water to surf the jet lag out of our bones. Armed with plenty of sun cream, we were able to do our first laps with the 7.0 sails and the large freerace boards. The contrast to our cold home country couldn't have been greater: 30 degree air, 27 degree water, palm beach - what more could a surfer's heart want? When we go out on the water with a board group for the first time, we often start with a so-called Manoeuvre roundThis means that each tester keeps their own sail and we rotate the boards in a cycle of around 20 to 30 minutes. In this way, the strengths and weaknesses of the boards in terms of planing, control in chop and, of course, manoeuvres become particularly clear. After four boards at the latest, each tester saves their impressions - in the evening we will then sit together to discuss the impressions.
Our 4-person test crew consisting of Tobi, Stephan, Franky and Manuel will certainly be rattling off plenty of nautical miles in the coming weeks. You can read about what we experience here, what new features await you in the coming issues and what else happens in the test blog on a regular basis.
